Do you ever feel defeated before you even get out of bed? The headlines from the day before or struggles of friends and families, so many things serve as reminders that this world is not the happily ever after our hearts long for. Teacher friends are weary before the year starts; upheaval and despair and diagnoses leave us groaning, “God, have mercy.”

This is not how the apostle Paul wants us to face our days. Next time you’re feeling defeated, read Romans 8. Paul reminds us that sin came into the world, leaving all of creation groaning beneath the consequences. Now if that was the end of the chapter, we might roll over and pull the covers over our heads. If we insist on doing life without God, that might be our best option.

But God . . . the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. When we’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to pray, the Holy Spirit comes to our defense. He reminds the Father of our weaknesses and fills in the blanks.

But God . . . works all things—the hard things, the complicated things, the heartbreaking things—for our good. Something good will come from the struggle. We’ll grow in faith, we’ll testify to God’s power in our craziness, or maybe we’ll witness change we couldn’t fathom before.

But God . . . causes us to stand and, even more, to battle on. The same God who sent his Son to rescue us from sin, death, and the devil will give us the strength to keep going and even to conquer the things that would otherwise defeat us. Isaiah said, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (40:30,31). And God giving us strength is the reason we live as conquerors.

It’s true that one battle ends and another begins. But you are on the winning team. There are skirmishes and wars, setbacks, and frustrations. But we dust off and we get up and we pray our way through, because we are conquerors and the battle is worth the blood, sweat, and tears. The cause of Christ is worthy of any effort we give.

Wake up victorious and face your day, because nothing you face today will make you less of a child of God. Nothing you do or don’t do will make you less loved. God is on your side, and you will not be defeated.